Wealthy eye London, NY as world’s rich to rise 50%

CITY SLICKERS:：Wealth creation among the very wealthy was not hit by the global financial crisis, a report said, adding that Asia and Latin America are leading the way

Bloomberg

Thu, Mar 07, 2013 - Page 15

London and New York will be the top destinations for the world’s wealthy elite as the number of people worth more than US$30 million swells 50 percent over the next decade, according to Knight Frank LLP’s Wealth Report.

The two cities will remain the favored locations for the world’s richest people until 2023 even though the fastest wealth creation will be in Asia and Latin America, according to the London-based property consulting firm.

The wealthiest 100 billionaires’ net worth rose by US$241 billion to US$1.9 trillion last year in spite of Europe’s debt crisis and a stalling US economic recovery, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 100 wealthiest individuals.

Carlos Slim, the telecommunications magnate who controls Mexico’s America Movil SAB, is the richest person in the world with a net worth of US$71 billion, followed by Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates and Amancio Ortega, founder of retailer Inditex SA.

“Wealth creation has not been dented by the global economy slowing, nor has this affected the demand for prime property as the search for safe haven investments has continued,” said Liam Bailey, global head of residential research at Knight Frank.

The number of high net worth individuals, classed as those with more than US$30 million, rose by 8,700, or 5 percent, last year and is expected to climb another 95,000, or 50 percent, over the next 10 years, the survey showed.

Monaco is the most expensive location to buy residential property with a luxury home costing between US$5,350 and US$5,920 a square foot (US$57,588 to US$63,724 a square meter), according to Knight Frank.

Jakarta and Bali posted the highest house price growth last year, with the cost of a property rising by 38 percent and 20 percent respectively.